The Numbers in Nine

The ninth chapter of the gospel of Luke is a chapter of numbers. Let us list and consider these numbers. There were the twelve disciples, the two coats, the five loaves and two fishes, and the five thousand men – a number we should keep in mind whenever we read about 'multitudes' or 'throngs'. Then there was the number fifty; Jesus had his disciples manage the crowd, seating them in groups of that number with space enough between for the disciples to move freely. Finally, there were the twelve baskets.

Twelve is used twice, being concerned firstly with a connection to Jesus and secondly to the evidence of miracles – and not the first miracle of that day for Christ had been healing people all day. We see an unmistakable link between the twelve who belonged to Christ and the twelve that proved the miraculous power of the divine.

Two is used twice, firstly as advice not to overstock, but to allow for whatsoever might happen and secondly for the pitifully insufficient amount of fish in the face of such monumental need. There is a link here, as well. The meaning to be derived from either is not to control the miraculous but to allow for it, to serve it if need be.

We come to the five, the five thousand, and the fifty. In the tradition of Jewish numerology, known as gematria, five is the number of protection and grace, fifty is the number for the jubilee, meaning atonement, liberty, and freedom. Five thousand is not especially Jewish, in regard to their gematria, but one may see a vague reference to the plate mail that contained five thousand shekels of brass. Such a reference might also put protection in mind.

Five thousand has no numerological meaning, per se, however, one thousand symbolizes the multitude. Five thousand might then stand for grace to the multitude. Doubtless, Jesus' multitude was larger than the men who were numbered. There were also women and children. To help the reader get his or her head around such a number, the Shrine Auditorium, and Expo Hall, in Los Angeles, California, has a seating capacity of some 6,300 individuals. In terms of required space, it uses 54,000 square feet.

The number five, in some form or other, is used three times between verses one and seventeen. Jewish gematria, while it may not include five thousand, does concern itself with the number 555. Their word for it translates as 'an eagle' and specifies a swift attack. From the Greek, we derive the meaning 'discernment of spirits'. Another Greek word that adds up to 555 can mean 'desire', which might reference, for our purposes, the multitude that Jesus fed – but it can also mean 'sacrifice'.

A final interesting aside about the gematria meaning of 'an eagle' – Israel's 1970's fighter jet, Nesher (Eagle), was replaced by the American-made F-15 Eagle.